Card game

ABSTRACT

A parlor or casino card game for a plurality of players incorporates each player&#39;s placing an ante into a pot, dealing a hand to each player, participating in a round of betting, and then playing hands by collecting combinations of standard playing cards to form melds which may be laid down. Cards are added to a hand by drawing from a deck or picking up a most recent discard, and cards are eliminated from a hand by a discard which completes each player&#39;s turn. The game ends when one player has formed and laid down melds comprising all the cards in the hand except for a single card which is then discarded. Each player can use an imaginary card having any suit or value to complete certain melds. The first player to lay down all of the cards in a hand wins the game and may take the pot.

BACKGROUND

For thousands of years, games that use cards or other uniquelyidentifiable playing pieces have been popular, both as a means ofpleasurably passing time in the company of others, and as intellectualexercises that challenge the players to make choices based uponperceived statistical probabilities and each player's recollection ofpast events. Two games that have been highly popular in decades past arepoker and gin rummy. Both poker and gin rummy are commonly played asparlor games, and both have been adapted to a casino-style of play.However, because both games have been played for many years undergenerally the same respective historical rules, some people who areaccustomed to playing poker or gin rummy, and to facing the sametactical choices that they have been making for years, may find that theold games have become stale, and that certain tactical choices no longerpresent the intellectual challenges that they once did. Such people maywish to play a game that is similar in some concepts to poker or ginrummy, but that involves different tactical elements of play and ofbetting.

The present invention is a new card game that combines betting elementsof poker, and tactical hand play elements of gin rummy, but that alsoincorporates new features in terms of requiring the creation of new cardcombinations needed to complete the game, and invoking the optional useof an imaginary card that may be used to substitute for an actual,needed card. Such new features present intellectual challenges that arenot found in other games, and provide a substantially larger number ofpossible card combinations for a winning hand than other traditionalcard games.

The appealing feature of the card game of this invention is itsentertainment value. The invention can provide fun for casino patronsand home players who enjoy card games, and can easily be adapted tocomputerized play. Many players enjoy the new, innovative features ofthe invention to provide players with a game that is easy to learn andplay but that generates more excitement than standard card games such asblackjack, poker, and gin rummy, which have become boring and simplisticafter many card-playing sessions. The card game of this inventionprovides a gaming experience that can be played for fun or money.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is a card game that fulfills the need for a fun, newcasino-style gambling game. The game is played using one or morestandard decks of cards, each card having a suit and a specific numericor face card value.

The game may be played by as few as two players, although greaterexcitement and enjoyment may be had where there are between five andeight players. Computerized versions of the game of this invention maybe developed, and would be able to interact with one or more liveplayers while providing virtual players who are able to compete atselectable, predetermined levels of skill.

To play this game, each player antes a predetermined amount into thepot. For parlor or informal games, a $5 ante is suggested. Each playeris each dealt the same number of cards. Although different versions ofthe invention can use different numbers of cards, eight cards per handhas been found to provide an interesting and challenging game for theplayers. Following the deal, a round of betting commences with eachplayer having an opportunity to raise the bet, to pass (check), or tofold if the player does not wish to meet the amount of the largest betthat has been made as his turn to bet comes around.

The object of the game is to be the first to lay down all of the cardsin a hand as 3, 4, 5 or 6 card melds, or by laying down a flush in whichall of the cards of the hand are of a single suit, and to discard alast, unused card.

Following the betting, the play commences in a sequential fashion aroundthe playing table, beginning with the player at the dealer's left.Although play could revolve to the dealer's right, rather than to theleft, such a modification is a matter of choice, and is unimportant tothe play of the game. Similarly, it is desirable to rotate the deal ofeach new hand amongst the players to ensure that each player has anopportunity to play “first,” “second,” or at any other position as eachnew hand is dealt. Some casino-style versions, however, may require thata single “house” dealer deal all hands. In that case, the deal may betheoretically rotated amongst players, and the order of play of theplayers may be rotated each hand, with a token being used to indicatewhich player is the theoretical dealer.

Cards are introduced into a player's hand either as a new draw card,which is delivered by the dealer to the player face down so that itssuit and value are not seen by other players, or as a pickup of the faceup top card from a discard pile. During a player's turn, the player maylay down one or more melds, but is not required to do so. During theturn, a player may also lay cards down on the meld of another player. Aplayer's turn is complete when the player places a card face up on thediscard pile.

There are three kinds of melds: A first kind is a flush in which all ofthe cards in the hand are of the same suit, regardless of value. Asecond kind is a straight flush combination of three or moreconsecutively numbered or valued cards of the same suit. A third kind ofmeld is three or more cards of the same value and of at least threedifferent suits. When only three cards of the same value are being held,they may be laid down only if they are of three different suits. Afourth or fifth card of the same value can be added to form a four orfive card meld, and may be the same suit as any of the first three ormay be of a different suit.

To assist a player to complete a meld of consecutively numbered cards ofthe same suit (a straight), each player can optionally add one imaginarycard, (or a Joker), to his or her hand, and can declare the suit andvalue of the card at the time the meld in which the imaginary card isused is laid down. The imaginary card can only be used in a straight,and is not available to assist in the completion of a flush.

The game is normally played using two standard card decks in order toprovide a sufficient number of cards for the number of players, althoughsmaller games may use a single deck, and there is no reason whyadditional decks cannot be used, if desired. The use of multiplestandard decks makes it possible for cards having identical suits andvalues to be used in a four or five card meld of cards having the samevalue so long as at least three different suits are represented in themeld. In the preferred embodiment, players may lay down their cards byadding to existing melds laid down by other players.

In the preferred embodiment, although other meld combinations may beused, the game is commonly won with three melds of three cards each.Because each player may use an imaginary card to help form a straight,the number of actual cards laid down in a winning hand will be eight(unless the player has played cards onto another player's meld), and alast, unused card will be discarded. However, it is also possible to winwith two melds of four cards each, and to ignore the imaginary card; orto have one five card meld and one three card meld, and ignore theimaginary card. Other winning combinations that use the imaginary cardare possible, so long as the minimum length meld is three cards, and therules for using suits are followed. The variety of possible meldcombinations, and the players' calculations of the odds for drawingnecessary or desirable cards, make the card game of this inventionchallenging and interesting for the players, and provide a decidedadvantage for those players most able to adjust the calculated odds bywatching the play of other players.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the primary steps in the playing of ahand by each player.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the essential steps involved in thebetting phase of the hand.

FIG. 3 shows a representative hand having two melds that may be laiddown to complete a game.

FIG. 4 shows a representative hand having three melds that may be laiddown to complete a game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 depicts the flow of the game of this invention. Before each hand,each player will place a like ante into the pot 10. Once all playershave placed their antes, the dealer will deal the cards face down toeach player 20. The method of dealing can be sequential, or may be two,four, eight, or any other desired number of cards at a time. In thepreferred embodiment, each player will receive eight (8) cards.

To enter the game, a player must first place an ante, and during thebetting phase, must raise the bet or check, as is depicted in FIG. 2.Preferably, betting will begin with the player next to the dealer 200,who can place a bet (raise) 230 or pass 240. Although the first playercould fold 210 and decline to play the hand 220, as a practical matterhe would check to see whether any other players will raise the pot byplacing a bet. Depending upon the situs and nature of the game (casinoor parlor), a raise may be limited to triple the amount of the openingante.

Betting proceeds from one player to another 280 until all players havehad an opportunity to bet 260, and all players who have not folded haveplaced bets of equal size 270. If at least some bets have been made,then play will commence 300. Alternatively, if no player has placed abet 290, then the hand is not played 310, and an additional ante iscollected for the next hand, doubling the size of the pot. If bets arenot placed for consecutive hands, the pot may optionally be divided, anda portion reserved to supplement a future pot. By limiting each pot to amaximum size before the betting commences, and reserving the excess forfuture pots, the players will have a greater number of opportunities toparticipate in larger pots, and their interest in the game will bemaintained at a high level.

The betting continues until all raises 250 have been met 270 or playershave dropped out of the betting 220. The betting phase takes place afterthe hand has been dealt, and all betting stops before the hand playbegins. Because of this betting procedure, betting strategies may takeinto account the strength of a player's hand as dealt and the player'sassessment of the likelihood of winning with that starting hand. Forexample, a player with a good hand may pass on the initial bet, as asignal that his hand is weak, and will thereby encourage others to enterthe game and increase the size of the pot. The player will then raisethe pot when his betting turn comes again.

Returning to FIG. 1, once the betting is complete, the dealer deals onecard, face up 40. Starting with the player next to the dealer 50, if theface up card enables that player to complete his hand, he can lay thehand down 70, play a discard 100, and go out on the opening round 130.If the player cannot go out, he may use the face up card 60 to make ameld, which must immediately be laid down 70. If he cannot or decidesnot to use the face up card 60, he must draw one card from the deck facedown 80. If the player can make a meld at that time, he may do so 90,although he is not required to do so. By holding potential melds withina hand until required to lay them down, a player can maximize thechances of making game-winning melds without committing to anyparticular combination until it has been made, and can avoid revealinguseful information to other players. A player's turn ends when theplayer discards one card 100. Play then moves to the next player 140.

As play continues, each player may, in his turn, lay down a meld ofcards 70, 90 and reduce the number of cards in his hand. When a playerpicks up the last player's discard 60, he must lay down a meld that usesthe card 70. In the preferred embodiment, when a player completes awinning hand 130, he will so notify the other players by voicing a keyphrase 120. In at least one version of the game, the player who hascompleted a winning hand will say “Thunder,” although any means offorewarning the other players that only one card is needed will suffice.The game ends when one player is able to lay down all the cards in hishand and discard a last card. The player who first lays down of all hiscards wins the pot 150.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show examples of representative hands comprising meldsthat may be laid down as winning hands. In FIG. 3, a five card diamondstraight meld is combined with a four card same-value meld to completethe hand. The five card straight includes a imaginary Queen of Diamondsto complete the straight. The four card same-value meld includes three7's of different suits, and one 7 (the 7 of Spades) that is not of adifferent suit. However, because there are at least three differentsuits represented in this meld, the fourth 7 is permitted to increasethe number of cards in the meld from 3 to 4.

FIG. 4 shows a typical hand having three 3-card melds. Once again, theimaginary card is declared to be the Queen of Diamonds. As an example ofthe strategy for playing a hand, prior to the final (and game-winning)draw or pick up, the player making this hand could have been holdingthree 7's of different suits and a diamond straight of 9-10-J and theAce of diamonds. A game-winning hand could have been made by drawing orpicking up an additional 7 (to form a meld of four 7's and a straight9-10-J-Q of Diamonds, using an imaginary Queen); or by drawing orpicking up a 2 or 3 of Diamonds (to form a meld of three 73 s, a 9-10-Jof Diamonds straight, and a straight A-2-3 of Diamonds using animaginary 2 or 3); or by drawing or picking up a Queen or King ofDiamonds (to form a meld of three 7's, a 9-10-J of Diamonds straight,and an Q-K-A of Diamonds straight, using an imaginary Queen or King).Thus, in a game played using a single standard deck, any one of fivedifferent cards could have resulted in a winning hand. In a game playedusing two standard decks of cards, which is the referred embodiment ofthe invention, any of thirteen possible cards (minus any that hadalready been discarded or were being held by other players) would havecompleted the winning hand.

Having fully explained the method of playing the game of this invention,it will be understood that minor variations in the betting and play ofthe game may occur without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention, which is limited only by the following claims.

1. A method of playing a card game comprising the steps of: providing atleast one set of playing cards comprising a plurality of card suits,each suit including a plurality of cards wherein each card has aparticular number value or predetermined face card value to form acontiguous sequence from a lowest value to a highest card value for eachsuit, all of said suits having in common cards with the same values,placing an initial ante to form a pot, dealing a plurality of cards toeach player to form a hand, holding one or more rounds of betting inwhich each player, in turn, may raise the pot, call, check, or fold,until all players have completed their bets, placing one card face up toform a first card in a discard pile, a first player playing a turneither by choosing the top card in said discard pile to combine withother cards in said player's hand to form and lay down one meld or toadd to an existing meld and optionally to lay down one or moreadditional melds or add to one or more existing melds, or by choosingthe top card from the deck and optionally laying down one or more meldsor adding to one or more existing melds, said player completing saidturn by discarding one card face up on the top of said discard pile,repeating the foregoing steps for playing a turn for each successiveplayer until one player has formed and laid down one or more melds andends the game by discarding the last card in said player's hand, saidplayer thereby winning the hand and taking all of the money in the pot,each said meld being one of three possible card combinations, said firstcard combination comprising three or more cards forming a sequence ofconsecutive numbers and face card values in which each card in saidsequence is the same suit as every other card in said sequence, saidsecond card combination comprising three or more cards having the samevalue, at least three of said cards being of different suits, said thirdcard combination comprising all cards in a hand being of the same suitexcept for the card to be placed on said discard pile, which may be ofany suit, said one or more existing melds being melds that have beenlaid down by a player and onto which an additional card or cards may beadded to enlarge the meld.
 2. The method of playing a card game asclaimed in claim 1, said method further comprising each player's handoptionally being supplemented with one imaginary card that may be of anydesired suit and particular value, said imaginary card being used in oneof said melds comprising said first card combination, said imaginarycard's suit and particular value being declared at the time said meld islaid down.
 3. The method of playing a card game as claimed in claim 2,said method further comprising the step of a player's notifying otherplayers that said player's hand has been completed by uttering apredetermined vocal signal.
 4. The method of playing a card game asclaimed in claim 2, said method further comprising the step of aplayer's completing said player's hand and ending the game on saidplayer's first turn.
 5. The method of playing a card game as claimed inclaim 3, said set of playing cards comprising one or more standard decksof cards.
 6. The method of playing a card game as claimed in claim 5,said set of playing cards comprising two standard decks of cards.
 7. Themethod of playing a card game as claimed in claim 5, said method furthercomprising the step of assigning said ace a rank of either the highestor the lowest sequential value of said card values for each meld inwhich an ace is used.
 8. The method of playing a card game as claimed inclaim 7, said method further comprising the step of each player's turnbeing determined by the order of each player seat relative to saiddealer, said first player being to the dealer's immediate left, eachsuccessive player being to the immediate left of the player whose turnis last completed.
 9. The method of playing a card game as claimed inclaim 7, said method further comprising the step of each player's turnbeing determined by the order of each player seat relative to saiddealer, said first player being to the dealer's immediate right, eachsuccessive player being to the immediate right of the player whose turnis last completed.
 10. The method of playing a card game as claimed inclaim 7, said method further comprising the step of dealing an initialhand of eight cards to each player.
 11. The method of playing a cardgame as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising the step ofusing a computer to simulate the betting and play of one or moresimulated players, said computer performing the further steps ofmaintaining a record of the ante of each player and each simulatedplayer, maintaining a record of the betting of each player and eachsimulated player, dealing the cards, betting each said simulatedplayer's hand, playing each said simulating player's hand, anddetermining a winner of each said game.
 12. The method of playing a cardgame as claimed in claim 11, said method further comprising the step ofaccepting money or tokens from each non-simulated player and paying outmoney or tokens to each non-simulated player who is a winner of saidgame.